A crucial part of child custody: The parenting schedule

During a marriage, dividing parenting time is not an issue. Both parents live in the home and often spend time with the children together. When a Massachusetts couple divorces, the issue of spending time with the children becomes a central part of the proceedings. One part of the child custody agreement that is crucial is the parenting schedule.

Deciding how to divide time with the children is often not as simple as allocating one night a week and weekends to one parent while the other becomes primary custodian. Many Massachusetts parents want to spend as much time with the children as possible. Research backs up that desire by indicating that children of divorce do much better when both parents are as involved as possible.

Working out the logistics of custody exchanges, considering work schedules and considering the children’s school and extracurricular activity schedules is enough to make many parents’ heads swim. For this reason, parents may want to consider consulting with the children regarding a schedule if they are old enough and mature enough to participate in the process. A parenting schedule designed only for the convenience of the parents sets the family up for failure.

The child custody process is not about winning or losing. It is about making sure that the children have ample access to their parents. The divorce is only between the parents even though it affects the children. Changes are inevitable, but ensuring that those changes have minimal impact on the children is a goal of many parents, which means that parents may have to compromise and cooperate in order to make that happen.

Source: verywellfamily.com, “Create a Parenting Schedule That Works for Your Family“, Jennifer Wolf, Accessed on May 27, 2018